Color
by XanthippeAlexithymia
Summary: IN PROGRESS. He swore she was doing this just to torment him. It was unfair, but so effective. HitsuKarin.


A few years had passed since Toshiro's last visit to the Living World. The worlds were at peace now. Still, as a division which specializes in the Living World, regular visits were part of the job. This was especially emphasized by the soutaichou who, while grateful to his new fifth squad captain Kurosaki Ichigo, was adamant about no more substitute shinigami's popping up.

And so no visit to the Living World was complete without swinging by the Kurosaki clinic.

The last few checkups had been performed by Matsumoto, but her reports always happened to "accidently" leave our specifics about the half-shinigami family. The soutaichou demanded a detailed report, so now it was Toshiro's turn.

The Kurosaki household was the same as it had been before. From within, Toshirio could not distinguish any reiatsu, but from the rooftop across the street he could still hear his former taichou proclaiming his love for his children and late wife. Still, there was no sign of the soutaichou's person of interest.

It had become apparent through some subtle testing that Kurosaki Yuzu was not naturally gifted with Shinigami abilities. Perhaps her Quincy side would one day awaken, but to date she was like every other human.

Her sister, the older twin, was a different story. Their tests revealed that her reiatsu capabilities, if developed, would be vast and potentially far greater than her brother's. Urahara had proposed that Karin had absorbed her sister's reiatsu, making her so unbelievably powerful. As such, she could infuse items with reiatsu as a human and was constantly a temptation to hollows. Urahara had been given indirect orders from the soutaichou to not train the youngest Kurosaki in anything but controlling her wild reiatsu which grew with every passing year.

Urahara's progress in these duties had also been conveniently overlooked in Matsumoto's _unofficial_ reports.

The door of the Kurosaki homestead opened, drawing Toshiro out from his thoughts to look down. A woman was leaving the clinic, ehad down and strides long. She paused, her hand going to her mouth and he watched as she bit a purple hair tie and held it between equally purple lips. Her hands then went to the task of gatherin up her long, inky hair. Toshiro glanced at the rest of her, noticing she was dressed casually in a t-shirt and gym shorts with no noticeable injury.

Kurosaki Yuzu appeared in the door then, holding a heavy duffle. "You forgot this," she said cheerfully. A friend of Yuzu's then.

"Ah, thanks," the woman, he glanced over her athletic form, the _girl_ said through tight teeth, finally reaching for the hair tie. Hair secured, she reached for the duffle and tossed her head up, flicking any loose bangs up and away from her face. As she did, her gaze met Toshiro's dead on. He was startled, but didn't show it. At least, he didn't think he did. But then she was smirking, those vivid purple lips twisting up in the right corner at her victory.

"Good luck, Karin-chan!" Yuzu cheered as her sister started walking. Toshiro held her gaze from where he stood until she turned the corner, all the while feeling for her reiatsu that he had considered himself familiar with.

All the while, she kept the smirk on her face.

Kept the smirk on her _purple_ lips.

Even after she was gone, Toshiro still stood on the roof, staring off into the direction she went.

* * *

While on his rounds, Toshiro appeared at the high school soccer field. The boys team was practicing, but a set of purple lips and long ponytail stood out amongst the players. Karin was still a very skilled player, giving the boys a challenge to rise to and she held nothing back when they did. She never hesitated to push back when anyone pressed themselves against her. She was strong.

He hadn't realized how much time had passed until the team ended their practice. His gaze still followed Karin, the flash of purple catching his eyes every time she smiled, talked, or laughed. Then, she was wrapping her purple lips around a bottle of water.

Toshiro remained composed until her purple lips released the bottle and she poured the rest of the contents over her head and down her neck. Her shirt was soaked immediately.

Her _white_ shirt, Toshiro noticed.

Which now clung to her and revealed a purple-.

A purple bra.

Toshiro felt his cheeks burn. Then, when Karin's heavy gaze landed on him, he looked away. Just in time, his phone buzzed.

Good. A hollow. Work.

With shunpo, he was gone in a flash, but he kept seeing purple everywhere and continued to blush.

* * *

She found him at sunset in his usual spot, typing a report into his phone as he leaned against the railing in his gigai, or rather the aged version that Urahara had supplied him with.

"Goat chin wanted me to come get you for dinner. You're invited by the way. Yuzu is expecting you." It was the mention of her sister that gave him no escape. Flipping his phone shut, he looked up at the setting sun. "You came alone this time."

"There's no longer enough activity here to warrant multiple high level Shinigami in Karakura," Toshiro said.

"You're welcome."

Toshiro turned to look at her, his eyes immediately seeing her purple mouth first. Then, he took in her t-shirt and jeans, a soccer ball propped on her hip.

"You've been training with Urahara," he said.

"Maybe," she replied, teasing him with a colorful smile.

"Your reiatsu is completely concealed," he said. Karin shrugged, dropping the ball to casually juggle it with her feet.

"Yeah, it gets distracting when hollows keep popping up during the school day and destroying parts of the building because you're a tasty treat," Karin explained.

"I assume you've also been fighting them," Toshiro said, swinging his legs back over the guardrail and pushing off of it.

Purple lips twisted.

"A girl can't reveal all of her secrets, Toush," she said, kicking the ball up and catching it. After a few moments, the smirk began to fade. "What are you starting at?"

"What is on your mouth?"

"Lipstick," she said.

"Why?"

"Because I like it. What's it matter to you?" Karin said, putting her free hand on her hip.

"It's just…different."

"You've been gone for a few ears. Things are always a little bit different." Silently, Toshiro took in her posture and expression. She looked casual, but he could tell she was on edge. While she wasn't quite frowning, her brows were furrowed much like her brother's often were.

"Right. You're a junior now?"

"Senior. I graduate in three months."

"Congratulations," he said, hiding his surprise.

"Thanks. Let's go, Yuzu will cry if we're late," Karin said, turning and walking away.

When he came to walk beside her, he was able to really see how much she'd grown. She was taller now, though still a few inches shorter than his gigai. As a spirit, he was in the middle of a growth spurt, making them about the same height.

"Are you ever going to say hello?" Karin asked. "You've been staring at me all day and never said anything."

"I'm here for work, not leisure," Toshiro said.

"That's a shitty excuse to give a friend," she said.

"I'm sorry."

"Whatever. Just don't make the same mistake next time," she said. "And don't wait so long."

"I won't," he promised, glancing sideways at his human friend. She smiled again, adding another flash of purple.

"Good. I'll hold you to it."

* * *

Welcome and thank you for reading Color!

Honestly, the idea for this story has been in my head and various notebooks for a couple of years now. Recently, it has resurfaced in my mind so I figured I would try to jot it all down to get it out.

Unlike other stories I have written, this entire story is outlined and planned. It will be short. Only 8 chapters long. They chapters will vary in length. As you may be able to tell, each chapter is themed with a color. Some colors will have more involved themes, others will be a simple passing notion. Each chapter is planned, it simply had to be written. Let's say...update once a week? Now, no promises. I'm a grad student and have 3 research papers to also write. This fanfiction is kind of my break that I give myself when I need to get away from research. As such, this isn't going to be a really in depth plot. It is Karin, Toshiro, and love. That's it.

So tune in next time for Orange. It will include a beach, our favorite alcoholic lieutenant, and kicking hollow ass.

Please review, it honestly makes me so happy and excited to write more!


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